Painesville, Ohio - The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team (1-0) showed off their offensive prowess as they defeated Lake Erie College in their season opener 3-0. It took them a while to get on the board, but once they did they never took their foot off the gas pedal.

While the offense was finding its stride, sophomore goalkeeper Mikayla Yarwood (Surrey, British Columbia/Clayton Heights)  went to work in net. She faced three shots on goal over the first 20 minutes of play and made the save each time. That was the momentum that Wheeling needed to get started on this night.

Yarwood was rewarded for her efforts just nine minutes later when senior Landree Wilkin (Orangeville, PA./Benton) scored her first goal of the season in the 29th minute to make it 1-0. She got the assist from senior Laney Brown (Moundsville, WV./John Marshall) and Wheeling was able to figure out the Lake Erie defense. From then on, Wheeling had several offensive opportunities throughout the rest of the first half, but couldn't come through as the teams headed into halftime with Wheeling leading 1-0. Throughout the first half, offensive opportunities were pretty equal, with Lake Erie slightly outshooting the Cardinals 6-5 through the first 45 minutes.

As the game moved on to the second half, the momentum started to swing the Cardinals way. Things got a little chippy early as senior Braedynn Porter (Mineral Ridge, OH./Mineral Ridge) got a yellow card in the 50th minute, but she rebounded nicely with her first goal of the season just three minutes later to make it 2-0. After being held at bay during the first half, Porter found a way to break through and showed why she was the team's top offensive player last season.

Porter was back at it again in the 59th minute scoring her second goal of the day off an assist from Morgan McGhee (Pittsburgh, PA./Mount Lebanon HS) to make it 3-0 Wheeling. Lake Erie tried to respond two minutes later, but Yarwood made yet another save on a shot to the bottom-left corner of the net. The Cardinal defense would take over from there as they secured their first victory of the season and the first win in the Wheeling career for head coach Theo Egbele.

Porter was the most accurate shooter for the Cardinals on the day, going 3-3 in shots on goal while netting her first two goals of the season. Brown, Mary DiFonzo (Oakville, Canada/St. Thomas Aquinas HS), and Kenadee Burgoyne (South Jordan, UT./Herriman) each added two shots in the win. Yarwood got her first win of the season making seven saves on seven shots on goal to get the shutout. Overall, Wheeling out shot Lake Erie 14-10 and put nine shots on goal compared to seven for Lake Erie.

The Wheeling University Women's Soccer team returns to action when they take on Ursuline College for their home opener on September 9th at 2 PM.